Felix Edward Hébert
Encyclopedia
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from the state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, having represented the New Orleans-based First Congressional District as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
from 1941 until his retirement in 1977.
Hébert was born in New Orleans to Felix Joseph Hébert and the former Lea Naquin. As a student at Jesuit High School there, he wrote prep-school sports for his future employer, the New Orleans Times-Picayune
New Orleans Times-Picayune
The Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.-History:Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins Kendall, the paper's initial price was one picayune—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ .Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the...
.
He graduated in 1924 from Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
and was the first sports editor of the Tulane Hullabaloo
Tulane Hullabaloo
The Tulane Hullabaloo is the weekly student-run newspaper of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is published every Friday of the academic year, except holidays, and has received multiple Pacemaker Awards, the highest award in college journalism.- History :The Tulane Weekly began in...
. He was a member of Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Sigma Phi is a fraternity established at the City College of New York in 1899 and is a charter member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. The headquarters of the fraternity is the Taggart Mansion located in Indianapolis, Indiana...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
and the Young Men's Business Club of New Orleans. On August 1, 1934, Hébert married the former Gladys Bofill, and the couple had one daughter, Dawn Marie (born ca. 1936), who married a future judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Louisiana* Middle District of Louisiana...
, John Malcolm Duhé, Jr.
John Malcolm Duhé, Jr.
John Malcolm Duhé, Jr. is a retired senior judge on the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He currently practices law in Lafayette....
, of Iberia Parish. The couple had four children, Kimberly Duhé Holleman (born ca. 1957), Jeanne Duhé Sinitier, Edward Malcolm Duhé (born ca. 1960), and Martin Bofill Duhé (born ca. 1962).
Hébert pursued a career in public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
for Loyola University
Loyola University New Orleans
Loyola University New Orleans is a private, co-educational and Jesuit university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name of the Jesuit patron, Saint Ignatius of Loyola...
in New Orleans and journalism for the Times-Picayune and the New Orleans States (the latter, a paper purchased by the Times-Picayune while Hébert was working there). As a front page columnist and political editor, he covered the candidacy and election of Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Huey Pierce Long, Jr.
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
, as one of U.S. Senators from Louisiana. His coverage of the "Louisiana Scandals", a reference to corruption among followers of the Long family
Huey Long
Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
, led to the convictions of Governor Richard W. Leche
Richard W. Leche
Richard Webster Leche was the 44th Governor of Louisiana from 1936 until 1939. Leche was the first governor of Louisiana sentenced to prison.- Early life :...
of New Orleans and Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
President James Monroe Smith
James Monroe Smith
James Monroe Smith, Sr. , was the president of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, during the 1930s...
. Because of Hébert's efforts, the Times-Picayune won the Delta Sigma Chi
Delta Sigma Chi
Delta Sigma Chi is an American fraternal organization for professionals in the area of Chiropractic.- History :In 1913, there were three chiropractic schools in Davenport, Iowa: the Palmer School of Chiropractic, Universal College of Chiropractic and the Davenport College of Chiropractic...
plaque for "courage in journalism".
Hébert's work also led to his election in 1940 to the 77th U.S. Congress. He served in the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
until the end of the 94th Congress, having chosen not to seek a nineteenth term in 1976. That longevity set a Louisiana record for the service in the U.S. House. Hébert was temporarily succeeded by the Democrat Richard A. Tonry, who in turn was quickly replaced by Bob Livingston
Bob Livingston
Robert Linlithgow "Bob" Livingston Jr. is a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist and a former Republican U.S. Representative from Louisiana...
, the first Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to represent the district since Reconstruction.
Hébert rarely had serious opposition. In 1952, the Republican George W. Reese, Jr., of New Orleans challenged him and drew a third of the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
vote. In 1954, Reese tried again, but in the low turnout off-year election, he polled only a sixth of the vote. In 1960, Reese, then the Republican national committeeman, was also the Republican standard bearer in the U.S. Senate election against Allen J. Ellender
Allen J. Ellender
Allen Joseph Ellender was a popular U.S. senator from Houma, Louisiana , who served from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with the legendary Huey Pierce Long, Jr.. As Senator he compiled a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative...
but secured only a fifth of the ballots cast.
Hébert opposed school desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
and signed the Southern Manifesto
Southern Manifesto
The Southern Manifesto was a document written February–March 1956 by Adisen and Charles in the United States Congress opposed to racial integration in public places. The manifesto was signed by 101 politicians from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South...
in opposition to the United States Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
decision which moved against de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
in seventeen states and the District of Columbia.
Hébert was the chairman of the Committee on Armed Services from 1971-1975. He was removed from the chairmanship in a revolt of the increasingly young and liberal
Liberalism in the United States
Liberalism in the United States is a broad political philosophy centered on the unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion for all belief systems, and the separation of church and state, right to due process...
House Democratic Caucus against the seniority
Seniority
Seniority is the concept of a person or group of people being in charge or in command of another person or group. This control is often granted to the senior person due to experience or length of service in a given position, but it is not uncommon for a senior person to have less experience or...
system. Many of the younger Democrats were not pleased when he addressed the new members from the Watergate Class of 1974 as "boys and girls". They considered him too amenable to the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. Hebert is responsible for founding the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD.
In a 1960 oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
interview with the Lyndon B. Johnson Library in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Hébert said that he never participated in any elections other than his own House races -- not president, governor, U.S. senator, or mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of New Orleans. By shunning other contests, he reasoned that he kept down the number of political opponents who might have challenged him for his otherwise "safe" congressional seat.
Hébert died in New Orleans and is entombed there in Lake Lawn Park Mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
.
External links and references
- U.S. Congress Biography
- Oral History Interview with F. Edward Hebert, from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library
- Who's Who in America, 1956-1957, p. 1141